Capaldi – who is currently filming series nine of the BBC1 sci-fi series – reveals he flew to the south-west African country after the Comic Relief co-founder said, “in that gentle way of his, that as the current Doctor Who it was essentially my duty to show people what their extraordinary generosity can achieve.”

Malawi has passed a law banning child marriage, raising the minimum age to 18 in a country where half of girls end up as child brides.Women rights campaigners hailed the move as “a great day for Malawian girls” and said the law would help boost development in one of the world’s poorest countries.But they warned Malawi would not end child marriage without concerted efforts to tackle poverty and end harmful traditional practices like early sexual initiations.“This law is extremely crucial because child marriage is a big, big problem in our country,"said parliamentarian Jessie Kabwila who helped push for the new legislation."The country will for the first time clearly articulate that we are saying ‘No’ to childmarriage.”Malawi has one of the world’s highest rates of child marriage. Half of girls wed before their 18th birthday and nearly one in eight is married by 15.Early marriage not only deprives girls of education and opportunities, but also increases the risk of death or serious childbirth injuries if they have babies before their bodies are ready. Child brides are also at greater risk of domestic and sexual violence.“This law is very important because of the number of girls who drop out of school because they are going to get married, and because of the high numbers of girls who are dying when they are giving birth,” Kabwila told Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview.“We cannot talk about development if we have child marriage. Women’s empowerment is a crucial player in development and women cannot be empowered if they are not educated.”

march 22 is world water day. globally, 783 million people lack access to clean water, and 3.6 million people — including 1.5 million children — die every year from entirely preventable water related illnesses. contaminated water is the leading cause of death in children under the age of five.

women and children (girls twice as likely as boys) bear primary responsibility for water collection in most of the world’s households. in impoverished african and asian communities, the walk to get water is 3.7 miles on average. this is time not spent earning income or attending school. an additional 443 millionschool days are lost each year due to water related illness in children.

more than one billion people around the world live in slums like the ones seen above, where they usually pay five to ten times more per liter of water than wealthy people living in the same city. consider that by 2030, the number of people living in slums is expected to double, and that by 2050, 4 billion people could face water stress or scarcity conditions.

Let us all pray for the people in Malawi and Mozambique. Many have lost their lives and homes to a terrible flood. As we remember to pray for Nigeria, don’t forget to say a prayer for the people affected by this terrible flood. This is our Africa!!!

At first glance, it’s a typical scene: Two teenage girls lean their heads together engrossed in conversation as they munch on tuna salad on a bagel and fries.

But listen to Memory Banda, 18, from Malawi and 16-year old Achie (whose last name is not provided because of her age) from Ethiopia, and you’ll hear an earful about a lot of things you wouldn’t expect. They’re talking about how tough it is to be young and female in Africa. They’re discussing how child marriage and female genital mutilation are just two of the obstacles to girls getting an education. They’re commiserating about the challenge of getting health care and of finding jobs that will let them lead a better life.

But they’re not just griping. Memory and Achie each push for change in their communities.

“Shoot every criminal who is violent when caught red-handed abducting people with albinism,” Reutersquoted the inspector as saying. “We cannot just watch while our friends with albinism are being killed like animals every day. We do not realize that these people are ruthless, have no mercy and therefore they need to be treated just like that.”

A Malawian school child smiles as she walks in the rain in Chiradzulou, southern Malawi. Malawi has been affected by flooding caused by heavy rains, with scores of people having died and some 200,000 displaced.

“I don’t wear makeup. I don’t care if my legs are shaved. Clothing labels mean nothing. Things that used to matter so much no longer do. Don’t get me wrong, I still like to look and feel nice, but I do it on my own terms and only when I want to.”